We, the Vice-Ministers of the Central American Security Commission and the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States of America, gathered together in Washington D.C. on December 12, 2008, with the participation of the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank (WB) as observers, and with the presence of the Secretary General of SICA, bearing in mind the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation in the fight against transnational threats and crime that affects our citizens;

That SICA Member States and the United States of America have continued the ongoing consultative process to enhance mutual cooperation with the view to confronting the transnational threats posed to all States of this region;

That SICA Member States and the United States of America are confronting crime, trafficking, violence and insecurity in a joint, preventive, comprehensive and effective manner as a priority for the region;

The SICA Member States and the United States of America acknowledge the efforts needed to establish a common approach with all invited observers that contribute to regional security;

The Declaration of the XXXII Summit of the Head of State and Government of SICA, in order to continue strengthening the Security Dialogues with Mexico and the United States of America, including the Merida Initiative, in order to develop Working Plans on the basis of mutually accepted agreements and priorities by the Parties.

AGREE:

To approve the Mechanism for Central America-United States Dialogue on Democratic Security.

To continue developing a common approach to shared security concerns in the region.